A Cup Full of Pencils

This year, I’ve spent the majority of my nights in hotels and Airbnb apartments. Business travel is part of the reason, but so is the renovation of our two apartments. In fact, even now, I’m about to fly to Penang to join the family at an Airbnb, impatiently waiting for our own condo renovation to finish.

So, as you can imagine, I care deeply about travel, hotels, and hospitality experiences. The last week and a half was particularly exciting for me, as I traveled to the US: I hadn’t been back since the pandemic. I had a work appointment in Philly, but I decided to spend a long weekend in New York first, getting used to the time zone and soaking up some art experiences.

I picked a hotel in Harlem, the Renaissance, for the weekend. It was close to Central Park, and the historical, cultural background of Harlem excited me. I arrived at the hotel late on Thursday night, but still in time to catch food service, and had delicious buffalo wings and a giant portion of bread pudding for dessert. The following three days were about sixty thousand steps of art appreciation and street photography, with many walks across the Park on top.

I carefully planned out my culinary experiences for the weekend, from the new and trendy takeout breakfast at the Harlem Breakfast Club to a local heritage restaurant, the Red Rooster, for an American comfort food dinner. I also went for fast food brands we don’t have back home. I particularly enjoyed the smashburger at 7th Street Burger. I hope this growing chain gets to Hong Kong eventually. The fine dining pick for me was a French restaurant, Maison Harlem. I had a delicious duck leg confit there, and the odd experience of finding a Hungarian lady running the show.

Overall, I was quite satisfied with the Harlem Renaissance stay: great location, good food, and a unique Harlem cultural flavor to it all. In fact, I felt validated in choosing Harlem, seeing the throngs of tourists swarming over the more commonly visited Midtown areas of Manhattan. I’ll probably make the Harlem Renaissance my preferred stay whenever I’m in the city.

On Sunday, I took the Amtrak train to Philadelphia, and arrived in a rainy, cold city after a very short, hour-and-a-half train ride. The corporate stay was arranged at the Element by Marriott, a perfectly vanilla hotel. I had zero feelings about the place. I was able to sleep, make a weak American coffee, and go across the street right into our office. Next time I visit, I might try something more adventurous! I did try two out of the three famous Philadelphia sandwiches: I had a Philly cheesesteak for brunch, and then an Italian hoagie from PrimoHoagies, both containing a shocking amount of meat and other fillings. I come from a family where we had one slice of ham per sandwich. I slightly bristle when my wife puts several slices of meat on a sandwich and then eats the rest of the pack on the side. Well, this Italian hoagie had like seven or eight layers of meat. It weighed a ton. I adored each bite. I’ll still have to go back to Philly for the roast pork sandwich.

My workshop finished on Friday, so I arranged an overnight stay at the TWA Hotel at JFK airport before my Saturday flight. I had seen a YouTube video of somebody taking photos there, and found the retro styling intriguing. I was delighted to check into a hotel that seemed right out of a sixties movie. It turned out that the building had been a proper airport terminal, built in 1962 for TWA flights. After deteriorating and languishing for decades, it reopened as a hotel, keeping its original Mid-Century design. I love this style very much. In fact, I chose Mid-Century Modern as the theme for our Hong Kong apartment, much to the annoyance of my functionally focused, very practical wife. The public spaces, and the exhibits on architect Eero Saarinen’s workshop and TWA owner Howard Hughes’s office, were great subjects for photography. Functionally, the rooms only really catered for a single night’s sleep: no wardrobe, no coffee, nothing really. But for me, that was totally offset by the opportunity to play around in this environment. I was ecstatic to find a cup full of TWA-branded pencils in the room. I’m a journaling and sketching enthusiast, and pencils and pens are a big deal for me. Safe to say, I nicked a few.

Friday evening, still in my business clothes, I fancied trying the more high-end restaurant at the TWA, the Paris Cafe. The staff were very friendly and kind, but the food took forever and was mediocre at best. Still, I enjoyed sitting in that environment, in my suit, sipping a zero-alcohol beer, imagining I was an International Man of Business in the sixties.

On Saturday, I did manage to get a cheaper, adequate breakfast sandwich at the hotel, but food would be a problem if I stayed more than one night. There’s nowhere to walk to, and the F&B at the TWA is really lacking. I feel I got what I wanted in terms of photography there, so next time I’ll probably stay overnight in the city and optimize for better food. But… I might go back to the TWA just for the pencils.

Back in Hong Kong, I’m reminded of how much I enjoy the way we fitted out our little gem of an apartment. Sitting at the table, I knowingly wink at the mid-century TV stand, and take out my pencils to journal about my trip. Have notebook, will travel!